Bittersweet Genesis
by eridium
Summary: Assassin!Levi. Femboy!Eren. Levi's face is plastered on wanted posters on every planet from Maria to Rose. He accepts a bounty to return a kidnapped AI singer named Eren Jaeger. He was only in it for the money, but things are never that easy. Rated M for violence, language and future sexual content.
1. Ironically I'd Rather Slit My Wrists

**Authors Note: **

One time I donated 3 pints of plasma and fainted. I thought I was dying.

Anyway, this is a short project I've had in my archives for a while and I just got dumped so I got nothing to do for a while so why not.

This chapter was originally going to be called "If I Don't Make It Home Tell My Cat I Love Her" but I didn't have a chance to introduce Levi's cat yet. I cri.

**Warnings:**

Blood. A lot of blood in this chapter.

**Musical Theme:**

Fracture [Chronic Crew]

* * *

><p><em><strong>Bittersweet Genesis; <strong>__Ironically I'd Rather Slit My Wrists_

Vote for tomorrow's _weather_!

The hottest topic in Galaxy Sector 8 is _weddings_.

_Second AI_ in the process, reports look good!

Buy your choice of _wardrobe_, have it downloaded tomorrow!

His eyes were going dry from how long he'd been staring at this damn monitor and not a single bounty was being listed. He sighed, leaning back in the leather seat and removed his glasses before rubbing his eyes with gloved hands. Throwing his glasses to the desk, he reluctantly stood from his seat again and stretched his arms over his head. Just as he was about to reseat himself, the electronic door slid open with a quiet whir.

He peeked over his shoulders, a feeling of annoyance coming over him when the two women who could be mistaken for twins hurried into his office. If they'd have been any sooner they would have ran right into the door. Again.

"Levi!" In unison, they wailed.

"What?" He crosses his arms, adjusting his weight to the other leg as they hurry to his desk.

Isabel squats to catch her breath better while Hanji shoves a tablet into his face, already lit up with some trashy shit on her screen. He grimaces when his eyes focus on a photo of a boy with chocolate hair covered in blood, like he'd been beaten. He looks up to her in disgust, expecting an answer.

"Do you know who that is?" She asks, as if he's in fact supposed to know this face. When he shakes his head, Isabel's emerald orbs look up accompanied with a dramatic gasp. Hanji holds a hand over her heart as if she's offended. "This is Eren Jaeger!"

"So?" He asks.

"The only AI to ever survive the data processer!" She exclaims. He rolls his eyes at her obnoxious obsession with the computers. She turns her tablet back around, her waxy finger jabbing into it. "He's a singer—a famous one too—but that's not it, look!"

Again, she shoves it into his face. He grabs his glasses off of his desk and reequips them to see a video playing. Two men, it appears, cackle into the camera before it cuts to the boy again. He's covered in blood, his nose dripping profoundly and one of his teeth are missing from his hung open mouth. He's gasping for air, shackles around his wrists, cowering in the corner.

His pink sweater is torn on the front, his little white shorts look like they're soiled, one of his knee high socks are missing and the other has blood stains on it.

The video keeps playing even when they come closer to the boy. Someone grabs his face, making him look up at the camera before wide honey and jade eyes peel open. They're swollen, from crying, from beatings. He looks behind the camera, at the men, before he makes eye contact with the video.

It ends there, paused on his face.

And Levi is disgusted, eyes frozen on the picture in front of him. He forces himself to look away, back to Hanji, who is staring at him with one of those looks in her eye. He throws his glasses back to the desk, sighing when he slumps back down into his seat.

"Since we're bounty collectors, let me guess…," he mumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose. "There's a bounty on those men."

"Yes!" Isabel clenches at the other side of his desk, peeking over like some rabid animal. "And do you know how much they're offering?"

He shrugs, slightly irritated.

"Try counting 2 _million_ on one finger," Hanji says, setting her tablet on his desk. She rests a finger over the frozen thumbnail on the screen, making Levi's eyes wander out of curiosity. "That's how much we could get to kill a couple of punks."

He sucks in a deep breath before rubbing his hands over his face, dragging it out until his fingertips stop at his chin. Silver eyes are still looking down, past Hanji's finger, to the bloodied boy on the screen. He's an AI, making him a hell of a lot more valuable. That almost makes risking his life again a hell of a lot worth it.

"But we have to move fast," Isabel adds. "A lot of people are trying, a lot of people have tried… apparently these assholes have killed 14 people who have tried to even enter their atmosphere."

"What galaxy?" He finally humors this situation.

"Ours."

"Planet?"

"Near Rose." Hanji answers. "They're on an unnamed ship that used to be the Rogue ship. They've wiped all data from it though making it just that much damn harder to find on the grids."

"That's not too far…," he mumbles, rubbing at the slight stubble growing under his chin with the back of his hand. His eyes flicker from the women waiting for his answer, to the pleading look on the kid's face. "As long as we get past Maria, Farlan should be able to hack the grids."

"Yes!" Hanji cheers, pumping her fist into the air.

"But this isn't a game," he interrupts her excitement. "You know that."

"I wouldn't have asked you if it were," she coos.

"After this we're splitting the money and you're moving the hell out," he looks as Isabel now, who sheepishly glances away. He sighs when he stands from his seat and brushes past Hanji. The door slides open for him and he lingers in the doorway. "Be ready in 4 hours. That's when we'll go."

* * *

><p>Hopelessness makes his eyes finally fall shut; after what feels like months… what could have been months… he finally accepts his fate with silent tears. The wires that charged the processor implanted in his skull will die before the nights over anyway, making it less painful when they try to kill him. His pain settings won't be charged, nor pleasure.<p>

His electronic heart will go out next.

He looks across the room, sitting on the concrete floor is his batteries halfway charged but smashed into pieces. The wires that connect into his collar bones and spine were ripped out painfully and burned in the makeshift fire that had long smoldered out, leaving him in the cold and damp.

He's forgotten what it means to feel comfortable. So long as his feelings are activated he can still feel the heavy weight on his wrists keeping him chained to the floor. The dreaded feeling in his chest lingers with painful throbs to match his heartbeat.

A red warning flashes in the corner of his vision telling him that he's got 19% remaining.

For the first time in his life… he accepts death.

* * *

><p>"Alright, here's the catch," Farlan grumbles to his projected monitor. He taps the side of his temple where a chip has been forever implanted and his screen disappears. His eyes meet Levi's for a moment before the blond sighs. "The ship's battery is about to go."<p>

"Meaning?" Hanji asks from the back of the ship. Her and Isabel are occupied in a card game that stops momentarily.

"It means that the ship's reactor is going to blow up in less than 3 hours."

"Shit." Levi hisses. He flips on the ship's autopilot before turning in his seat to better see all three of them. "It's going to take us 2 hours to get there. We'll have less than an hour to kill all of those men."

"And we still have to rescue Eren…," Hanji mumbles. "We won't be able to make it in time."

"We could use it to our advantage," Isabel offers. All eyes fall on her. "What if Farlan and I distract them while Levi and Hanji shoot their way through? You grab Eren and fall back. The ship will take out the rest of them later."

Silence falls over the crew who are all glancing at one another as they absorb the plan.

"You sure are smart for a 14 year old." Hanji cackles in the silence, making everyone in the ship wince.

"Okay," Farlan cuts off whatever insult Isabel had prepared. "I've hacked into Eren's processor. I have his coordinates."

Levi swipes the screen sitting on the dash to Farlan quickly, to which the blond punches in 9 numbers.

"This isn't good, though…," Farlan grumbles.

"Great," Levi hisses. "Now what?"

"Eren is an AI, which means he needs a charge like we need sleep." Farlan swipes through the blue holograms, passing a photo of Eren and details of his system. "But he hasn't been charged for three days."

"What's the remaining life on his charge?"

"18 percent. 2 hours and 40 minutes to be exact."

"Fuck!" Levi exclaims, stomping out of his chair. He paces the room before standing idly, holding his face in his hands. "So the fucking pain in the ass will die?"

"Pretty much." Farlan sighs.

"What's the fucking point then?" Levi asks. "Even if we make it out with him on time how the fuck will we keep him alive?"

"Yeah…," Isabel sighs. "They don't just sell AI juice anywhere."

"If we get him on the ship in time I might be able to make a makeshift battery until we get to Rose." Farlan explains. "That's the closest planet and our only hope. Hanji, I'm going to need you to help me prepare everything."

Farlan's eyes flicker from his screen, up to the redhead.

"Now." He says. "When we get him on this ship we have to get him on a life support immediately."

"What will we need?" She stumbles out of her chair.

"A lot. We're going to have to rip a few wires out of the ship." Grimly, he adds, "And even at that point, his settings will be all whacked. He might be in extreme pain in result… well, considering his state, he's probably already in a lot of pain. When we renew his settings though, he's going to feel it."

"Put a belt in the fucker's mouth. Just make sure you get the battery." Levi demands.

"…Shit. We're going to need blood," Farlan mutters quietly. When his eyes are done skimming the page he's on, he looks up hesitantly to meet Levi's disgusted glare. "A lot of blood."

"What the fuck for?"

"He's lost too much blood from… torture." The word comes out softly; with reason that makes them all glance away. "I'll make the battery. Levi, just… prepare yourself for some blood donation."

"Why me?"

"While he could accept any blood type, we'd have to go into his data and recode his settings. We don't have any time for that, so right now his blood type is A. So is yours."

"Tch. I thought he was an AI."

"He's still human. Just instead of a brain and organs he has wires and batteries."

Levi falls silent after a frustrated sigh. He leans against the frames of the inside of his ship, arms crossed and eyes glancing over the nothingness outside. Meteors passing by and Planet Rose off in the distance, which the GPS beeps twice to let them know they've got an hour left before they arrive at their destination.

"Levi." Farlan catches his attention.

"I know," he breathes. "Get the first aid ready. After he's on the ship… I'll give blood."

"We need it prepared now."

"I can't fight if I'm faint." His voice heightens with bitterness.

"Shit…" Hanji sets her glasses on the table, rubbing "o" motions into her eyelids. "This is such a mess."

"Yeah, it's never been this bad of a situation." Isabel sighs. "Are we still going through with it?"

Silence again; all gazes fall on Levi, who glances at all of them with narrowed eyes. He runs a gloved hand through his hair, pushing his bangs back as he sighs heavily.

2 million bucks is too much to just toss away.

He's always been greedy.

"Yeah." He says. "We're still doing it."

* * *

><p>9% remaining.<p>

He cranes his neck to bob his head to the left, forcing the warning to fly off of his vision monitor. His head relaxes again against the wall as he counts down seconds turning into minutes. He can no longer feel the skin missing on his knees or the glass burrowed into his feet. The toe nails that were pulled are no longer throbbing and his heart rate is decreasing.

Emotion_disabled. Pain_disabled. Pleasure_disabled.

Two seconds later, another message popped up, which would irritate him if he could be.

Nerves_disabled. Voice_disabled.

His sight would be going next once his charge reached 5. Then hearing. Then his blood flow.

If he could be upset, well…

The seconds he's counting turn into 10 minutes, he presumes. By then his battery has reached a 7% charge and a message to let him know. He can't even remove the message from his sight; he has to tolerate a list of messages now that his body is going numb.

Though his hearing is muffled now, he faintly hears the sound of someone outside of his cell screaming. Then another, more screaming. There's static in the back of his head and a low hum that sounds like a constant G note on his violin. His vision is flickering and dying out at moments, he has to blink it back.

There's a rattling sound in the other room like gun fire. The sound of lasers from a blaster being fired interrupts his violin melody, making him perk up ever so slightly. He looks at the door across the room, emotionless thoughts running through his head.

His heart doesn't even have the energy to speed up when blood splatters over the window on his door.

He knows he's going to die now.

The door starts to open hesitantly before the nose of a shotgun pokes through the crack, pushing it open fully. He winces when the barrel is pointed at him and he's looking at the two hollow eyes of the gun dead on.

Behind the gun is a woman with auburn hair pulled back into a long pony tail. Her glasses reflect the dim light in his room, making it impossible to see her eyes. Given the tight button up shirt she's in he can at least clarify it is a woman and there were no women on board.

Which means they're being attacked.

"Here!" She exclaims.

Levi abandons the other cell door he had been inspecting and bolts down the long corridor with his rifle in both hands. He pushes past Hanji when he finds the room. When his eyes fall on the brunet slumped over in the corner with golden eyes half lidded and dying out he nearly collapses on his face in his fast pace to get to him quickly enough.

He falls to his knees and immediately takes the two shackled wrists into his hands.

"Watch the door." He calls over his shoulder.

He pulls a laser pointer from the long trench coat he's wearing, and Eren catches glimpse of just how many guns are under that thing. Too many that he'd hoped to never see in person.

With his hands gloved in leather, he points the laser to the steel bracelets before turning it on.

If his sensors hadn't been cut off he might have felt the burning on his skin as hot metal dripped onto his flesh. He was thankful for that at least, not that it would have done anymore damage.

Levi moves fast with Eren's shackles and in seconds they're falling between Eren's legs with a clank. Levi observes him closely, moving his head left to right to double check there's no bug implanted in him. His fingers stick to the blood on Eren's cheeks and jawline.

"Can you talk?"

Eren thinks it's the stupidest question he's ever heard.

"That's a no," Levi breathes. He releases Eren's wrists and double takes him when his hands fall down limp. "You can't walk either." He says more to himself.

Eren blinks out the black spotting his vision. There's actually a spark of jealousy left in his system when he sees the man's silky ebony hair falling on flawless skin. He hadn't showered for days and yet this asshole gets to come in looking like some model with his red button up and tight black pants to hug his frame.

It's not fair.

He knows he looks like shit; hair frizzy and stuck together from sweat and blood. His face has purple lumps all over from the punches he's been given recently and he's certain that his nose is broken.

Taste_disabled.

Well, at least now he doesn't have to taste the blood in his mouth.

Levi straps his rifle back to the holster on his back. Eren has absolutely no energy to fight back from the ravenet wrapping his arms around him. Levi lifts Eren, who is oddly lighter than he expected, and holds him bridal style for safety measures. Over the shoulder would work, though if a stray bullet hits it would mean instant death for the kid.

He hugs Eren close to his chest; Eren is intoxicated with the scent of lemon and linen. It's different from the copper smell lingering in his nostrils for days.

"Let's go!" This deep voice echoes in his ears.

"Hello, Eren!" The redhead exclaims as they create a pace down the hallway. His eyes lazily fall onto her even though she's blurry in his vision. "My name is Hanji, this is Levi, we're here to rescue you!"

Levi, huh?

He knows that name. It's someone his creator told him to never go near. He's an assassin, a cold blooded killer… now he was being kidnapped by a lethal murderer, great. If he had the energy to care…

"Farlan! Isabel!" Levi exclaims. Eren catches a glimpse of all of the blood and bodies lying around. Two humans, alive, look when those names are called. "Fall back!"

Vision_disabled.

Everything goes black; all that's left is a warning telling him that he has 4% battery life remaining.

Levi nearly kicks the door down that's linking his ship with Rogue Ship. He hurries through first, Isabel and Farlan following him through the tight hallway conjoining them. Hanji lingers to watch the door, content when there's nothing left in the room to move and follows them in, shutting the door behind her.

Levi lays the brunet on the prepared, makeshift bed made out of sheets and pillows. Farlan moves fast behind him, bringing down the box of first aid supplies, tubes and wires. He sets it next to Eren while Levi rolls up his sleeve, Isabel is already at his arm with a razor blade knife.

Hanji slams the door shut behind them and waits for the hallway to retract before she's already at the control panel. The ship's engine hums before it bobs slightly with their movement.

"Go to Rose!" Farlan exclaims.

"You got it!"

"Ahh, fuck," Levi mumbles. He holds his wrist out over the bucket they found in a supply closet.

"This might hurt," Isabel warns. He has no time to respond before she's already dragging the blade over his wrist, making his heart skip a beat before speeding up. He feels his flesh tearing and seconds later a waterfall of red is draining from his wrist.

Isabel digs through the first aid, grabbing a syringe full of Titan-A; a healing serum that will close his wound. She sets it to the side. Farlan's hands are moving fast with the wires and old batteries, he's sparking them against each other and connecting this to that too fast for Levi to keep up with.

"Give me your other wrist, this will take too long."

"No fucking way." He hisses. His speech is already becoming muffled from the dryness in his mouth; the entire bottom of the bucket is painted red.

"Levi!" She exclaims.

He throws his other wrist up and she pulls off the other glove, revealing his damaged hand. A twisted fingernail on his ring finger from where it was pulled and a scar already over his wrist. She freezes momentarily when she sees it before shaking her head and jutting the tip of the knife into the veins.

"Fuck!" Levi growls between grit teeth.

"Don't worry, we just need three pints." Farlan muses.

"I only have six, you fuck." He spits out breathlessly. His voice cracks from the fear now that he's looking down at his two bleeding wrists.

"Don't let him faint and spill the bucket." Hanji offers from the drivers seat.

"Shut the fuck up, shitty glasses." His voice sounds as if his tongue is swollen.

He watches as Farlan starts lifting Eren's torn sweater and finds a small black incision already on the edges of Eren's collar bones. He pushes a wire through the hole and Levi feels as if he could puke as he sees the lump of the chord moving under Eren's skin.

"2 million dollars." Isabel deadpans. "It'll be worth it, okay?"

"Don't talk." Levi grumbles. "Just shut the fuck up."

His arms are getting too weak to hold up. Instead, they tremble before falling out completely, letting his hands dip into a bucket full of his own blood. His stomach churns from the disgusting feeling and the itching pain on each wrist.

"Just a little more." Farlan says, peeking over the rims of the bucket.

Levi nods weakly, his eyes falling closed slightly; though it doesn't matter much with the spiral of black and white dots spinning like a carousal in his vision.

"Hey, try not to faint, okay?" Isabel's voice is lost in his popped ears.

He feels a hand on his chest and when he opens his eyes he realizes he's only inches away from the bucket. He'd almost toppled over.

"Alright, give him the shot." Farlan says. "That's enough."

Levi falls over, luckily for him though this time he's against Isabel and his hands are removed from the bucket. He rests his head against her knees and swears he could die like this as he's looking up at the metallic ceiling.

Her face pops into his vision.

"Sorry in advanced for this." Her brows furrow.

He wonders why before he's punched in the chest with the syringe. He grunts in pain and tries to catch his breath as a warmth is already beginning to spread through his body. The core is at his chest, dotting his nerves with a tingling sensation. He's never been injected with the serum and who knew it would burn his wounds so God damn bad?

There's smoke smoldering around his hands that he now has the slight energy to lift and watch.

The bleeding is continuous, but the wounds are closing like Zip-Lock baggies. He scowls, muttering, "Disgusting."

He looks over, head still resting on Isabel's lap, to the brunet who's now being revived as well. Farlan takes the bucket of blood, setting it beside Eren's head. He takes a tube, a baggy, a needle and a rubber band before he's making some shitty, makeshift IV.

Levi looks away as his blood is being poured into the bag with the help of Hanji, who set the ship on autopilot.

"How're you feeling?" Isabel asks.

"Sick."

"You'll be okay." Farlan adds. "Your blood cells will regenerate before you know it."

He tells Hanji to hold the baggy up as he attaches the needle to the tubing. Levi's face scrunches when he's inserting the needle to the crook of Eren's arm.

"Why couldn't we have just… given him the serum?" Levi asks.

"His body already has the Titan serum in it. Without a charge it's useless. If we get him to 20% he should be able to heal himself but he can't charge himself."

"Mm…,"

Farlan goes silent as he taps his temple, a screen appearing in front of his face. It's Eren's profile, except with Farlan hacked into Eren's personal information. It shows his battery life going from 3%, slowly regenerating to 5. They all sigh a breath of relief.

"We did it." Hanji claps.

"It's not over yet," Levi struggles to sit himself up. He hugs his knees to keep balance and scowls when he notices the pools of blood surrounding him. Some his, some Eren's.

Vision_enabled.

"What's that mean?" Isabel asks.

Eren's eyes peel open, answering the question for them. His golden orbs are still half lidded and tired, but at the least they're only relieved that he's awake. Hanji is the first to kneel next to him and shove her smile into his face.

"Welcome back!" She grins. "You gave us a scare, you know?"

7%.

He looks away from Hanji, eyes falling onto the ravenet where they linger.

8%.

"Isn't that thing moving a little too fast?" Levi asks.

"I don't know what's going on. He's absorbing the energy so fast." Farlan looks to the small machine's dial. "His heart rate is increasing and his body is sucking it up."

9%.

Voice_enabled.

"Get the fuck away from me." The voice quivers and breaks. Everyone's eyes go wide, especially Levi's, considering those words are directed towards him. "You… murderer."


	2. Angels Wear Knee Socks

**Hiatus:**

I've moved out and now working so I'll be extremely busy for portions of time. I have to worry about rent and groceries now, along with the bills being put in my name so writing might be second to last on my list of things to do. It's still first on the list of things I _want_ to do but I can't have both right now. So if my updates are later than usual or short please understand I'm trying really hard to keep up with my fics the best that I can. If you want/need to contact me, my information is on my profile.

**Authors Note:**

Have some panties and a homophobic Levi.

**Nella Moonblood:**

The book is called "Born of Night" and this was very much inspired by that book (though I only plan to make the first 2-3 chapters similar to it). I read it about 5 years ago and ever since I've wanted to write something in comparison. Good eye, good choice of read too, it's a really amazing story. I'm surprised to find someone else who has read it considering it never really made it big. In fact, I just bought Born of Fire about 2 weeks ago and reading it now. uwu

* * *

><p><em><strong>Bittersweet Genesis; <strong>Angels Wear Knee Socks_

Resting his head against the back of his chair, he tumbled a moon rock between his fingers, dragging his gloved fingertips across the smoothened parts of it. His eyes just barely opened when a small notice appeared on his monitor alerting him that they'd be arriving to their destination soon. He poked it away, rolling his head to the other shoulder to see his crew chatting away at the metallic table beside the exit door. And Eren, apart from them, staring silently at his bare feet that had only begun to heal.

The bruises on his flesh were still there, along with some scabbing. His black eyes had gone away, teeth regrown, nails unplucked and finger bones reset. He envied the amount of power the kid had when it came to being flawless; right now that's all the brunet was, flawless. Skin smooth again, callouses gone, nails perfectly manicured. As childish as it be he considered it unfair.

He turned his head again at another alert, an incoming call with "Erwin Smith" printed beneath the picture of a blond and blue-eyed man. He accepted the call despite enjoying his silence and turned in his seat to face the webcam above his screen. The light flickered on before his face appeared alongside Erwin's, who had looked unprofessional as odd as it be. As if he'd just woken up, hair a mess and face still lazy.

"What's up?"

"Did you get Eren?" His voice was stern despite.

"How'd you know?" Levi mused, setting his rock on the dashboard.

"Everyone and their mother knows," Erwin deadpans. "Grisha isn't happy. Rumors are spreading about him putting a hit out on you."

"Who the fuck is Grisha?"

"Eren's creator; he has reason to believe you've kidnapped Eren for information."

"Reason's like?"

"Jaeger and Ral are very close," Erwin breathes, eyes darting away to avoid Levi's quick change into a sour scowl.

"That was nearly 10 years ago." He tries to argue but Erwin shakes his head, a shrug lifting his shoulders as to say 'I know.' "We all know I didn't do shit, anyway."

"Grisha doesn't."

"So that's why the kid think's I'm some sort of sick freak," Levi sighs, resting back into his chair. He grazes his knuckles over his stubble, eyes flickering into his own camera to peek behind him, as if Eren would have acknowledged their conversation. The brunet is still looking away, quiet as ever despite his crew all staring wide eyed at the screens.

"Just try to get him home before Grisha starts another war."

"Another?" Levi asks in slight disbelief, only to feel a failure in his heartbeat when Erwin nods. "That's the plan." He breathes, slapping the 'end' button on his dash.

When the screen cuts off he buries his face into his hands, rubbing his temples and eyes grimly. He turns slowly in his chair, almost afraid to see the look on his friend's faces. As he imagined they were horrified at the mention of "war" and a hit being put out on each one of them. The thought made electricity surge through his chest. He shook his head, not having to think much about his decision.

"You're all banned from the ship." He declares. Charcoal eyes meet each of his crew's sight. "Until Eren is returned safely we're not speaking."

"You're insane," Farlan spits, earning agreeing murmurs and nods from Hanji and Isabel.

"Like hell we're going anywhere." Isabel retorts.

"It's not a request," Levi cuts off Hanji before her mouth opens. "I'm the captain of this ship and you're my crew."

"Fucking hold on a minute," Isabel slaps her palms to the table, her chair scraping against the floor as she stands. "This bounty was my idea!"

"My name is the only one on this bounty as of now," Levi's voice becomes stretched from irritation. "The money will still be yours, but as long as it's just me Grisha is looking for none of you need to be involved. I'm dropping you off in the city and that's that."

"Levi—"

"I won't repeat myself." He growls. Hanji closes her mouth with furrowed brows, her eyes falling to the floor immediately.

"I'll go with you," Eren's voice is little and quiet; he'd almost forgotten the brunet was there. He looks over his shoulder, prepared to tell Eren that he was coming anyway. "I want to go home. So take me home and I'll tell my father to forget about this whole thing."

"You're a persuasive little shit, aren't you?" Levi's humor is dry as he rests his chin on his fist.

He looks through his lashes to examine his crew, eyes darting to the small little adult in the corner of the room. He can't stand the sight of him for more reasons than one. His shitty AI factor, the back-sass, the bullshit he brings, the flawlessness of him, yet he can't rid a kid of his own home. With those thoughts he gives in with a sigh.

"I'll take you home," Levi says. He expects a smile or relief to wash over Eren but the brunet is made of stone, a pin point gaze just as expressionless as his. He inwardly laughs to himself; two can play at this game. "After you call your father. Tell him everything is alright and I'm not out for information."

"Fine." Eren answers too quickly.

"But before that I'm cleaning you up." Levi muses, spinning his chair back around to maneuver the ship into the city gates. "We're getting you some new clothes. You're going to tell your father how kind we've been to you, aren't you?"

The question isn't kind in the least. It's said with a sharp tongue, it's a threat. Eren automatically picks up on the tone.

"Of course." He returns quietly. He holds a hand over his stomach and closes his eyes; as if the idea of even being humanly towards Levi is making him sick. With all the pride he has to swallow down Levi is sure it's bound to cause a stomach ache.

A content hum is all that's heard in response as Levi docks the ship on the land of planet Rose. He turns around again, giving his three friends a look that he knows they understand. An "I love you, but get off of my ship," kind of look that honestly looks no different from any other expression, yet it's somehow known as they all stand to their feet.

Instead of getting off immediately, they all huddle around his chair, leaving Eren to wonder in the back of the ship.

"Be careful," Farlan whispers. Isabel nods in agreement, muttering a "yeah."

"I can handle a little brat." Levi says, not caring enough to keep his voice down.

"Just don't let Grisha pin you down." Hanji says. It's surprising to see her straight faced. "He won't hesitate to kill you if he thinks Eren is in any kind of danger."

"I know that."

"So don't _put_ him in any danger." Hanji scolds. She waves her finger in his face, scorning him. "Be. Nice."

"I'll try." He retorts sneeringly.

He's surprised when they don't try to linger any more than they have. Hanji and Isabel look on the verge of tears and worry while Farlan persuades them further off of the ship. Levi turns in his seat, waving goodbye as they step off. Isabel hesitates, giving him one last worried look before sighing and reluctantly leaving.

The door whirs shut again, leaving only him and Eren in the ship. He sighs, resting his head on his seat.

"Do you hear that?" Levi asks, eyes closing.

"…No." Eren waits a few seconds, glancing around the ship before quietly speaking, "Nothing."

"Exactly." Levi laughs to himself. "Nothing."

"Oh."

"I'd love to enjoy the peace and quiet but we have things to do," he sighs, lifting his head and pulls his glasses out of the tangles of his bangs. Sliding them on he returns to the steering wheel and selects some shop locations in his GPS. He looks over his shoulder, to Eren who is already staring at the back of his head. "Come here."

He doesn't actually expect the brunet to listen, yet he does and takes him by surprise when the lanky brunet is standing beside him a few seconds later.

"Sit down," Levi nods to the passenger seat. Eren sits hesitantly, eyes locked on Levi at all times. "What size clothes to you wear?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"What I'm wearing."

"Hold." Levi waves his hand dismissively, flipping the autopilot back on before leaving his seat. He leaves the room with distrust in the back of his mind; he hurries to collect some clothes from his old dresser and returns before Eren has a chance to try anything funny. He holds up the uniform; a black button up and some gridded black and white pants. Not the most stylish, in fact he's certain this is his high school uniform. "Try these on."

He juts the clothes into Eren's open hands before reseating himself. He turns off autopilot, weaving himself back into a steady flight.

"Bathroom is down the hall—" His eyes flicker back to Eren, already undressing. He chokes, shakes his head and _tries_ to peel his eyes away from the tan figure wearing only a ripped sweater and skimpy, pink and yellow panties made of lace and torn on the right cheek. He swallows the slight disgust and rather focuses on the GPS instead of spitting out his nasty comment.

"Do you need a change of underwear?" He asks, uncomfortably avoiding Eren's gaze.

"Please."

"Of course," he mumbles under his breath. He autopilots again, stumbling over the leg of his chair to avoid the brunet only two feet from him. He goes to his own underwear drawer and plucks out a simple pair of black boxer briefs. When he returns with them Eren looks baffled momentarily. He hesitates to take them but does, provoking to remove his underwear right here and there.

"Eren!" Levi snaps. Emerald eyes are wide and confused, unsure of why he's being scolded. Levi shakes his head, growling in frustration as he points to the back of the ship. "The bathroom is that way."

"I don't have to go."

"Christ." He wonders if Eren is being this annoying on purpose. He sighs, throwing himself back into the seat. "Forget it."

He makes damn sure not to look at Eren's reflection on his windshield or glance over his shoulder as he hears a small fabric hitting the metallic floor.

"You're not going to rape me?" Eren's voice is soft yet filled with venom. This catches more than just Levi's attention as wide silver eyes look over his shoulder horrified.

"What the fuck did you say?" Levi asks breathlessly. As if his expression hadn't already asked it. He hasn't even acknowledged the fact that Eren is bare naked as the day he was born in front of him.

"You heard me." Eren sticks his nose up, swallowing the lump in his throat. Levi can tell intimidation isn't his forte.

"I wouldn't fuck you if my life relied on it." Levi snorts, returning his gaze to the screen. Considering Eren's first words to him, he sarcastically asks, "Don't tell me you're believing shitty rumors now?"

"I heard about Petra," Eren says softly, finally putting on the provided boxers.

"I didn't _rape_ her." He aggregately deadpans.

"Then how did that rumor come to be?"

He tugs the shirt on, buttoning it up and throws the pants over the passenger seat. He sits down as his hands occupy the buttons, folding his bare and flawlessly hairless legs into the seat. Eren hugs his knees to his chest, propping his chin on his knees.

"It's a long story." Levi sighs. He glances over, slightly unsettled with the fact that Eren can't even dress himself.

"Is it the truth?"

"What? The story?" Eren nods. "I wouldn't lie about it."

"Then tell me."

"Kid," Levi sighs, crossing his legs. He's lucky his hands are occupied on the steering wheel otherwise he might choke him. "Fine. You really want to know?"

"Yeah."

"Petra was pregnant with my kid, alright? We were supposed to elope. The baby died. A miscarriage. That's when her father found out and erased Petra's memory." He spits out quickly. Short and sour; his voice was stern. "He said I raped her to make the baby's death look more honorable."

"Well, she _is_ a princess," Eren adds in a "what-did-you-expect" tone. "Were you a prince?"

"Far from it," he snorts. "More like a sewer rat. Petra was too nice."

"Did she ever remember you?"

"Hopefully not." Levi sighs, answering more questions than one. Eren hums contently, returning his eyes to the city outside of the ship. People are walking on the sidewalk, bags in hand and eating outdoors. It's when Levi stops at a crosswalk that he looks back to Eren. "So what did those men want with you anyway?"

"Money… sex… I dunno."

At the mention of sex his heartrate trips over itself. Given the circumstances he found Eren under he's certain "sex" is the incorrect word.

"Sex?" Levi's voice softens. He tries to understand the emotion Eren must feel. "You mean they…?"

Eren looks over; his expression morphs from confused to a sour understanding. His eyes narrow before darting away, focused on the outside again. He shrugs. "I said I don't know."

His teeth click as his jaw tightens at the gross twist in his stomach. Pity is a soft-core word to explain how he feels for this kid. Silver eyes trail over the thin legs bunched up in the chair. Pastel bruises almost disappeared are still scattered from his knees to thighs, making his organs twist harder.

"Okay," he quietly lets the subject go, replacing it. "Do you need anything in particular?"

"Just some clothes I guess."

"Special soap? Shampoo?" He looks over again, finally he's relieved when Eren's eyes meet his sheepishly.

"A shower sounds nice…," Eren says more to himself despite the eye contact. "Would you mind?"

"Don't even sweat it," Levi could laugh; he knows there's still almost 10 million in his bank account. Buying for Eren wouldn't even bruise his wealth. "We'll pick you up some shower necessities after we get you some clothes."

"Some perfume?" Eren asks.

"Huh?" Levi has to double take Eren when the brunet goes silent. "Perfume? Sure."

"Panties?"

"Panties…?" Levi furrows his brows, glancing back at the little wad of clothes still on the floor. Clearing his throat, he nods slowly. "Why not."

He maneuvers the ship through traffic and crowds. The worst part is finding a parking spot and he considers momentarily ramming into the asshole who took two parking spots with his abnormally huge ship. When he does find one, he parks and sighs a breath of relief.

"Come on," he says, standing to his feet to stretch. He removes his glasses, leaving them on the dashboard as Eren follows him to the exit. Just as he's about to step off he turns around, eyeing Eren up and down. "You're seriously not putting on pants?"

"I'll chafe."

"Right." He purses his lips, raising a brow when his back is to Eren again. He steps off of the ship and could kiss the ground if it weren't so filthy. When Eren hops off he closes the ship door and turns off the engine with one push of a little button on his key ring. He's thankful that the shirt comes down over Eren's ass, otherwise he might be arrested for indecency. "Where do we start?"

"I don't know," Eren muses, eyes wide on the bustling core of the city. A tall building stands in the middle of it all, a clock tower that stands over a thousand feet tall and illuminates the city at night has caught his utmost attention. "What's that?" He finally asks.

"Just the clock tower," Levi says, starting a walk towards the city entrance. "I forget you're not from this planet."

"I've never even been in this galaxy."

"Mm," Levi hums, trailing off of the conversation. The last thing he wants to talk about is a galaxy controlled by the Ral family, which happens to be where Eren is from. They walk past a series of small shops until Eren stops at one, eyes glued to the window. Levi halts when he notices there's no longer a brunet beside him and returns to where Eren left off.

"Can we go in there?" A little shop that sells candles, perfumes and scarves.

"Ha, yeah." Levi already knows this place. He laughs to himself, grabbing the large doorknob made for a species other than humans. He tugs it open with both hands; he wouldn't dare admit that he struggled to hold the door open for Eren. Once the brunet sashays into the shop he shoves himself inside breathlessly. He nods at the small blonde girl sitting in her frilled dress near the cashier. He wonders how the hell she gets in.

"Welcome!" She beams, hopping off of the counter. She claps her hands together, immediately going to Eren as some sort of marketing scam the brunet was too dumb to notice.

Levi's interest is far off on the tall brunette girl in the corner watching them with arms crossed. He smirks, inwardly laughing when she rolls her eyes at him and throws open the curtain to the other room, disappearing behind red and gold beaded cloth. His eyes return when the blonde's voice is becoming too fast about sales and deals for him to take anymore.

"Cool it," Levi waves his hand between the blonde and brunet. She's got him indulged in some sort of green and golden cloak. "We made a list."

"So?" She pouts, proceeding to throw the cloak over Eren's head and tie it at the neck. She smoothens it out over his shoulders, patting the emblem on the back of it in the shape of swords.

"So we're not here for bullshit." He says.

"Oh, you're worried about money now?" The rich, exotic voice comes suave from behind the counter. Ymir: the only one wearing a nametag, because unlike Historia, she actually works here. It's a wonder how Historia is even here so much. When Levi clicks his tongue and shifts his weight onto his other leg, Ymir chuckles lightly, coming out from being the counter.

"Never." He coos, accepting the double pat on his cheek.

"Who's the kid?" She asks.

"Eren!" Historia cries. The same look of offense that Hanji and Isabel had was mirrored on her face. "Eren Jaeger! The singer!"

"Oh, right, I heard about you," she muses, looking the brunet up and down. "So you saved him?"

"With the help of my crew." He crosses his arms. They're all looking at Eren as if he's a sculpture in a museum.

"You'd better keep him on the D-L, a lot of people are looking for him."

"There was a riot earlier," Historia holds a hand over her heart. "It's getting awful. The bounty is being raised."

"The men are dead," Levi informs much to Historia's horror. "Their ship blew up a long time ago."

"So you're collecting the bounty?" Ymir asks with a raised brow.

"Splitting it." He says, watching as Eren and Historia slowly peel away from them and head to the back of the store where dresser are lined up. "I'm just here to get him some clothes and necessities for the trip."

"To?"

"Galaxy 4."

"Holy shit," Ymir breathes, eyes wide. "That's going to take at least a week."

"Two. I still have to come back."

"At least the bounty will pay off your debts."

"I guess," he shrugs, sighing at the remembrance of his many payments.

"Levi!" Historia cries, holding up a white lacey, long sleeve shirt that's missing the shoulders. She waits for some kind of approval and settles for Levi's shrug. She turns around, excited with a smile on Eren's face.

"Seriously," Ymir deadpans. "Hide him. You'll both get hurt otherwise."

"I'll buy him that shitty cloak he won't take off."

"A mask, too."

"Sure."

"Levi, they could come after us, too."

"No one is coming after you."

"I'm not putting Historia at risk again."

"I know," he breathes, eyeing the taller kin.

His cousin, some of the only family he has left. One of the only few handful of people that actually enjoyed his company. Like hell he'd put her at risk; he's slightly offended she'd even think so. He neverminds his thoughts, breaking his gaze away from Ymir's scornful glare. He clears his throat, leaving her there as he weaves through the few racks in the shop. His dusty boots are unlikely on the polished oak flooring.

"Eren," he catches the brunet's attention, who looks down over the pile of clothes Historia has hung over her arm. "Are you ready?"

"I picked out a few outfits… what's our limit?" He asks, furrowing his brows as if he'd actually been taking a limit into consideration.

"10 thousand." He shrugs the first number he thinks of. He wants to laugh uncontrollably at the shocked yet thrilled expression coming over Eren.

"O-Okay." Eren breathes, looking into the arms of a very happy blonde girl. "So… I'll try these on."

Levi nods, not expecting the hand on his wrist to pull him alongside to the dressing room. Eren is excitedly tugging him, who is being pulled along by Historia, keys already in hand to unlock the dressing room and throw back the privacy curtain. She hangs Eren's choice of clothing in the small area, welcoming him inside as she steps out.

"I'll be at the counter if you need me," she smiles, patting Levi's shoulder before brushing past him.

He's speechless, left to just simply shrug and wrinkle his chin in a blank expression. Eren smiles apologetically and Levi can pick up on a slight thankfulness in it before he's closing the curtain and Levi can hear the sound of clothes hitting the floor. The front door chimes and in comes a couple, he clears his throat again and stumbles to find the chair behind him. He crosses his legs, resting his ankle to his knee just as the curtain comes open again, revealing Eren in his new outfit.

Tight, hot pink shorts that hardly cover half of his thighs and a white t-shirt tucked into said shorts, accompanied with bright, cyan suspenders, along with some black little slip ons. He grins, rocking his hips back and forth cutely as he waits for some kind of response from Levi. After seconds of silence, expectation and shrugs, Eren finally rolls his eyes, hands on his hips.

"Well?" Eren asks.

"S'nice?"

"Thanks." Eren grumbles, slapping the curtain back open before shutting it behind him, flashing one last pouting look.

It takes almost 5 minutes before the curtain comes open again, this time the lacey, white shirt returns. It exposes his tanned shoulders dotted with freckles. A fluffy lace for sleeves, the waist falling to his groin with a matching pare of layered, lace shorts. Knee socks are hugged by white frill on the knees. He looks like an angel, right down to the pearly little slippers that dance slowly as Eren tip-toes a 360.

It catches Levi off guard for seconds; for a split second his mind wanders on the brunet crawling into his lap, feeling velvet against leather, skin against skin and lace brushing against his eyelids as a soft voice hushes him. A quietness comes with the thought that hypnotizes him momentarily.

He has to mentally back-hand slap himself hard back into reality; he's not into men, and Eren is definably a man with the obvious pair of genitals he'd seen while Eren was changing. However, he can't deny that Eren is a beautiful man. Ah, hell, it's just been too long since he's had a woman in his bedroom. Now his mind is getting into all sorts of unmarked gutters.

"I like it." He says, standing from his seat. He brushes past Eren, glancing around the small room covered in clothes on the floor. He grabs the forest shaded cloth from the ground, throwing it over Eren's head again. "Except I like it better with this."

He fixes the hood to cover half of Eren's face and ties the small little knot around the neck. When he takes two steps back, Eren looks into the mirrors in the dressing room, muttering something about "not bad" and smiling like an idiot at the cloak giving him bat wings.

"I like it," Eren twirls the cloak, making it flow as he spins and grins to his reflection.

"Yeah," Levi muses, eyes glued to the angel's reflection. "Me too."

* * *

><p><strong>End Note:<strong>

Ymir and Historia will always be the first characters I introduce to stories, ahh I just love them so much and I think Levi and Ymir would be total sass-asses with each other while Eren and Historia just sit there with "they're doing it again" looks.

Anyway, I had to cut this short or else it'd have been too long. Bluh.


End file.
